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Friday, August 29, 2014

My stop in this tour is a tasty excerpt. Enjoy reading and don't forget to check out the book summary below!

For now, I’m wandering through the place, checking that
security is in place and the bar is working smoothly. Like old times, back when
we started opening our own clubs. The difference between now and then is that
we do this—manage the place—only on opening night and for a couple of hours. At
least I do. Buddy still enjoys staying the entire night at one of the locations
and making sure everything runs as he likes.

“Nick,” I bump into him as I entered the +25 V.I.P. section,
“I didn’t know you’d be coming. I thought you said you had a busy day.”

“Yes, I’m working,” he says. “Tony is in the field and the
decision for her to come was made only an hour before we arrived here.”

I scan the room that only has about twenty guests—mainly
friends—and find a curvy hot item wearing a barely there skirt and an open back
blouse talking animatedly to…Blaine Frank. Who the hell invited him?

“Did she come alone?” I ask before jumping the macho wagon
and breaking the fingers of my architect, as he’s touching Becca’s arm. Nick
shakes his head. “She came with Frank?”

“No, with the Sanders,” Nick tells me. “They’re at the bar.”

That’s an open invitation to act somewhat possessive, isn’t
it? The jury—my dick—agrees and as a judge it dictates the procedure to follow.
Walk to her and let Frank know that he needs to back off.

“Hi, beautiful,” I whisper in her ear and make the mistake
of touching her silky skin with the tip of my fingers. Becca tenses and by
instinct, I kiss her naked shoulder. “Let’s get a drink and dance.”

I don’t wait for an answer, instead I grab her hand and pull
her toward the private room, which will remain closed for today.

“What the hell was that?” she asks after I unlock the door,
let us in and close it behind us. “Did you lose the memo where it informs you
that I’m not yours?”

“You’re killing me here, Becca,” I say as I try to tamp down
the jealousy running through my body. “Fuck, you know I can’t resist when you
show that much skin. Then he’s touching you and…”

“He wasn’t touching me, Dan. The exaggerating much file is
taking a hit again. You’re making a light brush on my arm sound as if he was
mauling me right in front of all the guests,” she shrieks, not a Becca like
behavior. “And what if he was, we are over. O.V.E.R.
So stop kissing my back as if we’re together. If you need to get laid, there
are plenty of women that will be willing to do it. We’re not even friends and
you’re taking way too many liberties.”

“We’re not friends because you won’t let me get close to
you,” I automatically respond, then I rethink what I just said since I’m guilty
of the same charge. “We haven’t even tried to close that gap, Bex.”

“Fine.” She crosses her arms. “So when did you move to San
Jose, Dan?” she questions, as if we’re retaking some random conversation.
Instead of letting me answer, she speaks again, “Never mind, I apologize if I’m
not willing to play the game of twenty questions with you.” She raises her
hands toward the ceiling and shakes her head. “We both know I’m the only one
who’s going to keep the conversation going while you give me monosyllabic
answers.”

I want to ask my own question, PMS or just bitchy? but I abstain.

“Bad day?” Bad
question, I tell myself, after she growls. “Bex?”

“It’s hard you know.” The head looking down and lip biting
posture isn’t a good sign. No I don’t,
I want to say but choose to listen. “Trying to behave friendly, but not too
friendly, making sure I don’t overstep because I’m not your person anymore
and…I resigned to all my rights. But then you behave like this…” She gestures
with her hand, as if speaking of the stupid scene I just made outside this
room. “Or when I moved to my new place and you kicked across the street guy out of my house. I can’t remember his name,
nor do I care much, but he avoids me now. You’re hitting on me one moment and
the next you look at me as if I’m contagious and of course you avoid me at all
times. It’s crazy, confusing and dumb, you know.”

“I know,” I respond and match her sigh. “We could start
again, as friends if that’s what you prefer. As you previously established, we
aren’t going to be out of each other’s lives any time soon—if ever.”

“Then there’s that, your family is mine too.” She looks
around the room. “Friends, I guess, Dan, I like the sound of it better than
being nothing.”

I nod and check my surroundings to verify that the silence
that usually follows her is not taking over, because it’s infuriating to be
with it and Becca inside the same room.

“But be aware,” I tell her as I reach the door handle so we
head back to the VIP room, “that’ won’t last long. To be blunt, I want more,
including getting in your panties, Rebecca. Not long ago I discovered that you
and I are vined together, branded and there’s no way in hell I’m spending the
rest of my life feeling like I’m missing a part of myself. Don’t try to confuse
me with your brother this time, because I don’t need more siblings.”

BOOK DETAILS:

BOOK 1

Where Life Takes You by Claudia Y. BurgoaPublication date: July 31st 2013Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

Becca
Trent lived her childhood next to a cruel woman—her mom—who lived to
torment and neglect her. During her high school years, her mother
married; bringing home not only a new husband, but a step sister her
same age. The latter took over her Mom’s role—making
Becca’s life miserable. Including stealing Ian—Becca’s best friend and
boyfriend—Lisa treated her worse than her mother had for the previous
fifteen years. A couple of years later, things ended up in tragedy.

Becca
buried that part of her life in the deep corners of her psyche, but
that only work during the days when the nightmares didn’t come
back to haunt her. Her best friend, Dan gives her that family love
she always lacked. Everything was close to perfect, until everything
and everyone from her past came back. Now, she’s trying to figure out
how to survive and keep that bond which seems now to be held together by
a thread.

Note: This is the first part of a two book novel.

BOOK 2

Next To You by Claudia Y. Burgoa(Life #2)Publication date: June 2014Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

Him…I need time. Time to heal those wings and learn to use them…Was
part of the letter Rebecca Trent, Daniel Brightmore’s fiancée and best
friend left when she ran away. The person he trusted the most for the
past decade disappeared without giving him a second glance. She taught
him how to love, believe in family and that everyone deserves a happily
ever after. Now he’s struggling between wiping any traces of her from
his life and drowning his sorrows away with the help of his new best
friends—Don Julio and Jack Daniels.HerRebecca’s
past suffocated her to the point of not wanting to continue, her
lifeline and the only reason to live began to withdraw from her. She
wished it had been her imagination, but heard it loud and clear: “If
not, there’s always a divorce, nothing is forever.” This time it became a
leave or die situation. Something has got to change—she had to change.
Packing light and leaving a letter behind, she takes a journey that can
help her find herself through the shards of her painful childhood.As
letters, memories and stories are exchanged, two once inseparable
people reconcile what’s left of their relationship. Beyond the confines
of everything they built together, they’re left with two lonely people
searching for what it means to be whole. Will they find meaning under
their bruised psyches or will their pasts get the better of them?

Claudia
lives in Colorado with her family and three dogs. Two beagles who
believe they are human, and a bichon who thinks she’s a beagle. While
managing life, she works as a CFO at a small IT Company. She’s a dreamer
who enjoys music, laughter and a good story.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Can life really turn on a dime,a missed bus—or a stuck pastry shop door?

Chloe
Dillard’s life has always been complicated. Her mother is a neurotic
romance novelist and her boyfriend, Mathew, has been pressuring her to
go “all the way”—even as one of her own best friends offers to
accommodate him.

But after The Worst Night of Her Life, Chloe
escapes on her Senior Class trip to the swoon-worthy city of Paris which
takes her mind off her troubles—temporarily. On the final leg of her
dream trip, Chloe squeezes in one final run for a last-minute box of
decadent pastries. Add a stuck door, subtract a broken four-inch heel
from her cute strappy sandals, and Chloe ends up one stuck girl on the
bakery shop floor with a sprained ankle.

Rescued by the shop
owner’s dreamy son with chocolate-syrup eyes, the beautiful city of
Paris suddenly becomes Chloe’s personal secret adventure. And even
though Jean-Paul, the oh-so-kind La Patisserie shop boy is the
gentlemanly guy Chloe has always dreamed of, even he has a girlfriend.

The
police are tracking her down as a run-away, Mom’s having a nervous
breakdown over her daughter’s “disappearance”, and Chloe’s just trying
to have a Happily-Ever-After even as her dreams with Matt are swirling
down the drain.

Could being lost in the city of Paris be just
what the doctor ordered? What’s a girl to do in the most romantic city
in the world?

NOTE: I received the novel in exchange for my honest review.

I
was hooked on this novel right away. When i started reading and all the
French pastries were being described, I felt in awe and in total envy. I
think I'm as much a fan of pastries as Clare, although I don't think
I'd miss my tour bus just to put my gluttonous thoughts at rest.

Anyway,
i was actually expecting a bunch of pastry recipes in the back of the
book, but was very disappointed when I found none. Pray tell, why would
you tempt a person when you can't provide a recipe, eh?

Writing style:It
was told in an engaging, first person POV, with a fresh narrating
voice. The research is obvious in Paris lifestyle, tourist hangouts and
French pastry cuisine. I liked how each chapter had before and after
parts, where Claire got to explain what had happened before her trip to
Paris, and what was happening at the moment.

Story line:Romantic
and quite simple, it grabs the attention quite easily. But there is one
drawback that I can't not mention. It reminded me way too much of Anna
and the French Kiss. Sure, it isn't the same story, and all the Parisian
references couldn't be helped... But the boy drama? The dropped
girlfriend? The cheating boyfriend? The sudden attraction and jealousy? I
really couldn't help comparing it to Anna's story.

Themes:-Being stranded alone in a foreign country-Trusting total strangers-when could it be a wise thing to do?-Love
at first sight/long distance relationships. (btw, how could a
relationship be labeled 'long distance' when one party has gone on a
vacation for a week?)-Coincidences-do the really happen and how to make the most of them

Characters:Jean-Paul
was just a random French guy, whose family owns a Patiserie (pastry
shop). He's kind and I guess we could call him a gentleman as he always
seems to be helping Claire. I liked his determination to figure out his
dream and to follow it. I felt sad because of the loss he had indured
and was amazed at his will to live life with full force, but also being
smart about it.

Claire was a reckless American girl, who was sent
to spend a week in France. Yet, instead of enjoying all tourist
attractions, she seemed to have a heart and mind for one thing only -
and I'm not talking boys here. I'm talking French pastries. Being a
beginner chef herself, Claire was dying to taste every pastry she could
buy at the Patiserie. Then her little accident happened and voila - she
is suddenly given the chance to indulge in pastries. And not only that,
she actually finds her heart fluttering in the direction of a cute
French boy.

In Conclusion:
When mother America calls, what will Claire do? Can she leave the
enchanted French world in the past and return to a very much uncertain
home and boyfriend situations?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

They said it couldn't be
done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a
popular girl after moving to a new school half-way across the country.
Amazing what losing your braces and going out for cheerleading will do.
Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she
can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain
instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all,
her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to
upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up
with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't begin to know the real
her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new
planets and galaxies. But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As
he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his
feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy
she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One?
Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted
life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and
soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she
really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's
changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

NOTE: I received the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I
saw this series going around the blogosphere and got intrigued, so I
thought I'd check it out. It didn't turn out to be the super awesome
contemporary story that I'd anticipated, however. It wasn't a sweet
romance to cherish, it was more like a coming-of-age kind of thing. The
romance that was supposed to be there was completely unrealistic and
felt forced more often than not.
On the other hand, I can't say it
was an awful story either. Sure, it didn't focus on a purely romantic
story, but it did raise some valid questions about consequences,
choices, change, peer pressure and growing up.

Writing style:
Fairly
good and clean in writing. But I didn't feel captivated and there was
no urge to finish the book in one sitting. It took me a while to get to
the end, which is only a sign that I didn't enjoy it all that much.

Story line:
I
suppose it was well thought out, but it was way too slow paced and
uneventful for my taste and I felt like some scenes could've been taken
out. There was some drama going on between 1)cabin crews, 2)Lauren and
the guys she liked, 3)Lauren and her friends, 4)Lauren and her family.
Yet, even all this drama felt a bit boring and dry.

Themes:
- Growing up, fitting in, being yourself
- If you don't know who you are, how can you know what you want?
- The importance of friends and family
- Love: how do you know it's real and true?

Characters:
Lauren,
the protagonist who told the story, was at large a confused girl who
had a lot to figure out all of a sudden. Questions like "Who am I?",
"What do I want out of life?", "Who should I love?", "Who are my
friends?" plagued her mind all through summer camp. Some things change
in her life, others remain the same, as she figures out the answers.

Matt
was Lauren's jock of a boyfriend. She dated him through the school
year, but as she came to realize, she never really got to know him until
he decided to join her at summer camp. He was a good guy, slow to
anger, but still strong in his male possessiveness. He came to be the
only constant person in her life, who didn't really push her to make
decisions before she was ready. He cared for her and wasn't afraid to
show it.

Seth on the other hand... To be honest, I didn't see
what Lauren liked about him. He wasn't serious about her, didn't fight
for her, had trust issues and abandoned Lauren the moment she walked in
camp witth Matt. Seth never really gave her a chance even though he
claimed he had feelings for her.

Hannah was the chief mean girl
who was actually quite lonely and just didn't know how to show her need
for true friends. I think she's a character i'd like to read some more
about.

Kayla, in my opinion, was the most likeable of all
characters. She not only befriended Lauren but was also nice, helpful
and quite friendly.

In conclusion:
Camp Boyfriend was a very slow read and couldn't win me over as much as I hoped it would.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Sometimes I wish I’d
lost a leg or something. Everyone can understand that. They never get it
when what’s been broken is inside your head.

Five years after an
unspeakable tragedy that changed him forever, Gordie Allen has made a
new home with his half-brother Kevin. Their arrangement works since
Kevin is the only person who can protect Gordie at school and keep him
focused on getting his life back on track.

But just when it
seems like things are becoming normal, Gordie’s biological father comes
back into the picture, demanding a place in his life. Now there’s
nothing to stop Gordie from falling into a tailspin that could cost him
everything—including his relationship with Sarah, the first girl he’s
trusted with the truth. With his world spinning out of control, the only
one who can help Gordie is himself . . . if he can find the strength to
confront the past and take back his future.

NOTE: I received the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Judging by the cover, I didn't think
this book would be something so spectacular and full of meaning and
emotions. I guess that's one more reminder that covers aren't to be
trusted.

Anyway, I do not regret reading These
Gentle Wounds one single bit. What I do regret is reviewing it so
late, but life is busy. I just want to say that I was pleasantly
surprised by the quality of the narrative and the story. There was
nothing average or cliche about it.

Writing style:

These Gentle Wounds was a story of
intense emotions - fear, passion, doubt, love - all in extreme
quantities. Written in 1st person POV it had a way to draw the reader
in and to keep them there, fully emersed in the story of Gordie, his
past, his present and the hope for his future.

Story line:

Gordie has suffered through a horrible
childhood. Now, in his teen years, he's haunted by the past and by a
man who wants to claim his future. With the help of his half-brother,
Kevin, and a stubborn girl (Sarah), Gordie has to figure out how to keep his
mind in the present and not lose his sanity and everything he's fought
for.

Themes:

-Parental abuse

-Psychological trauma and how it
influences child mind

-Having hope for a love and a future
against all odds

-The strength of sibling love

-The faults in the child protection
system

Characters:

Gordie's character isn't easy to talk
about. He was such a nice boy, but so traumatized by the past (his
Mom's actions and the Night Before) that he hardly had any hopes for
a normal future. It is largely thanks to his half-brother Kevin that
Gordie's even alive. Yet, it isn't until Sarah entered his life that Gordie
realized mere existence was not what he wanted. He wanted to live to
the fullest, to feel the spark of life that Sarah kindled and turned into a
blazing fire inside his soul.

Kevin always seemed to be the stronger
brother. The pillar of support that held Gordie together. The person
Gordie always went to for help, for peace. But it was completely
clear to me that the same was true the other way around. The two boys
had each other's backs at all times, because that's what real family
does. There was fear in Kevin too, he just managed to hide it better - the brokenness, the hopelessness - and to turn it into anger instead.

Sarah was the light at the end of the
tunnel of Gordie's dark thoughts. Like a pure, perfect vision of
hope, she clung to him and brought him relief from the constant fear.
With her love of photography and all things new, she was a fresh,
unencountered beginning for Gordie's abused heart.

Jim was Kevin's dad. He was the only
resemblance of a father Gordie ever knew. He wasn't exactly kind, per
se, but that's only because when things went down, he hadn't been
prepared to be taking care of two emotionally (and not only) scarred
boys.

Gordie's father was a monster in every
sense of the word. He was psychotic, selfish and violent and I hated
his guts. Not to mention that social services should've checked on
him before giving him any rights to even see Gordie, let alone spend
time with him.

In conclusion:

These Gentle Wounds isn't a light, easy
read. It's full of emotion, pain and struggle to find sanity and
normalsy.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Okay, so this isn't a post about The doomsday that you probably thought of when you saw the title. It's not about a comic, or a movie.. it's about my impending first author interview that I'm planning to do over Skype.

Yeah, if you're following this blog, you've read my previous post about the new feature I'm offering to authors. Honestly though, this would be a huge challenge for me. Why?

Because I'm an introvert.

Whatever, right? But this is a huge deal for me. I hope I don't start stuttering or something. Then I'm gonna have to upload that embarrassing interview for all of you to listen to. I bet y'all would laugh over my failed attempts at sounding cool.

Or not. I don't really think my audience is made of bullies, so let's hope I'm right.

This post is so that I get you updated on how I'm planning to record the interview. Like I mentioned, I'll be using Skype, so I had to go look up any info on Skype call recorders. And you know what? There are very great apps out there! Thank you tech people!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

A gritty, urban New
Adult Cinderella story where the princess can do her own rescuing — she
just needs someone to believe in her.

Sister to car
thieves, ex-girlfriend to a drug dealer, high school dropout, no-hoper
and loser — Jess is on the sidelines, watching her life become one epic
fail. Her dreams of university are fading fast, as the people in her
life fight to confine her to their own expectations.

Then she
meets Sebastien, a gifted cellist from a very different walk of life.
Sebastien is clean and strong and talented. He likes and respects her,
but he too has expectations. Sebastien seems to think she can do
anything, and Jess, despite her fears and the secrets she hides, is
starting to believe him.

But just as Jess dares to hope, the
secrets in her past and the lies in her present catch up with her. All
seems lost and she has to make a choice. Between past and future.
Between home and hope. Between now and never. And this is now.

NOTE: I received the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I
must confess I expecting more from this novel. True, it wasn't
horrible, or anything like that, but it definitely wasn't great either.
It didn't leave me with a feeling of contentment as I wanted it to and
that was disappointing.Some of the scenes and dialogues were a bit
out there in the realm of surrealism. Jess's random hookups with Jay
were unconvincing, to say the least. I really couldn't put myself in her
shoes and understand why she would pretend she wasn't interested in
him, when clearly she was and he was. Or shy she was so stuck up on
hiding her background when there was nothing to be ashamed of.The romance itself developed kind of fast for my taste and I'm not entirely sure it worked all that well.

Writing styleIt
was engaging, but there was some need for editing. It didn't bug me all
that much, though it did make me flinch from time to time.

StorylineNothing really original in this novel. Perhaps the cello music could count as the original part, but nothing else struck me.A
girl from the slums falls for a rich guy who turns out not to be a snob
and is also smitten by her. Some trouble arises between them but the
ending is happy.

Themes-Family & how it shapes you as a person-Dilemma: to fit or not to fit with the people around you-Jealousy and how far it can take you-Love at first sight - is it real? Is it worth fighting for?-Is it possible to fight for your dreams when they seem impossible?

CharactersJess
was weird. I couldn't understand her character, her reasoning and her
confused thoughts. She was so unsure of herself, so ashamed of her
family, that she pretended to be someone else entirely. She always
assumed that people thought the worst of her. The had a trust issue with
everyone and I got it to an extend. But she overdid it at times and
that annoyed me. I hated how many times she repeated she was a slut for
having slept with a couple of guys. She seriously believed she was
worthless and I hated that her family was too broken to attempt to fix
her.

Sebastien had a cool name and played a cool instrument - the
cello. He had a great talent and was one of the people who dared to get
close to Jess. He treated her with kindness even though he knew nothing
about her and then when he learned more, he cared for her despite it. I
understood his jealousy too, after all, he was left to make his own
conclusions.

Anna, Sebastien's sister was mean, jealous of Jess.
And unsure of herself to the extent of doing everything she could think
of to harm Jess. And her family. And to think she pretended to be
friendly. It was obvious she would never fit in Jay and Jess's social
circles.

Jay, Jess's ex-boyfriend and sometimes hook-up, turned
out to be a good guy who didn't hold a grudge. I respected him for that
in the end.

Bryan, one of Jess's brothers turned out to be caring and a person to count on when difficult times came.

In ConclusionA novel to pass the time, This Is Now could've actually been something spectacular.